Chapter 411: Reigniting Life
Sigrid galloped as fast as she dared, weaving through the streets while glaring back at Luca with a helpless expression.
"Why?!" She demanded, glancing back at his infuriatingly delighted face. "Why did you do that?! I had them calmed down! They were about to let it go!"
Luca’s grin didn’t waver. "That’s exactly why I did it. It was getting boring."
"BORING?!"
"Yep. Besides, this is much more fun." He added, tightening his grip as she rounded a corner. "We’re playing tag!"
"We are not playing tag! They’re out for your life!" Sigrid’s voice climbed toward hysteria. "I have never, seen my own soldiers this angry! And I’ve seen them fight monsters that have gone after their lives!"
"Trust me." Luca patted her shoulder reassuringly. "Twenty years from now, they’ll all be laughing about this over drinks. ’Remember the day our husband made us drink breast milk and then called us baby-food thieves?’"
"It’ll be a cherished memory. A village legend!"
Sigrid made a sound that was somewhere between a groan and a scream.
’This man. This impossible, chaotic, completely ungovernable man!
One moment he was dispensing fatherly wisdom to children. The next he was tricking her soldiers into drinking elf breast milk and then taunting them about it in a notebook.
He was mature and childish, wise and ridiculous, all wrapped up in the same infuriating package.
But, just as she was processing this, Luca leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her in a full embrace.
Sigrid’s entire body went rigid.
"Thank you." He said softly, his voice warm against her back. "Thank you so much for standing up for me back there."
She could feel the heat of his body pressing against her and the strength of his arms around her middle. Her face erupted in crimson.
"I was a goner in that moment." He continued, seemingly oblivious to her flustered state. "If you hadn’t stepped in, I would definitely have been beaten up."
He squeezed her gently, and Sigrid felt her heart stutter in her chest.
"You’re basically my knight in shining armor."
He then paused, glancing down at her simple dress.
"Well, more like a knight in beautiful, girly attire. But still—thank you so much. I don’t know how I can ever repay you, my knight."
"I didn’t—it wasn’t—" Sigrid’s voice came out in a strangled squeak. "I had no choice! If it weren’t for the Rider’s Covenant, I would be in that crowd chasing you right now!"
"Mmm." Luca’s voice was musing. "I don’t believe you."
"What?!"
"I think." He said, and she could hear the smirk in his voice. "You just couldn’t bear to see me get bullied. I think you stepped in because you wanted to protect me, Covenant or no Covenant."
Sigrid felt a jolt of alarm.
Because part of that was true.
She didn’t know why, but the moment she had seen Luca being surrounded by the angry centaurs, a sudden surge of protectiveness had washed over her.
It was the same instinct she felt when her queen was in danger.
But why? She didn’t understand it at all.
Luca didn’t need her protection. Even in his mortal form, he could handle any threat they posed.
Unlike Poppy, who would be utterly helpless without her knights, Luca was more than capable of defending himself.
And yet...
She had stepped forward anyway.
Then she remembered something her mother had whispered to her long ago, during one of their quiet evenings together:
"There will come a day when someone enters your life, someone you will want to protect with everything you have."
"Even if they do something wrong. Even if the whole world turns against them. You will step in, not out of duty, but simply because you care."
"When that day comes, my dear Sigrid...you will understand."
At the time, she hadn’t understood.
But now, thinking about it, her face flushed crimson.
’What are you thinking?!’ She scolded herself fiercely. ’This is ridiculous! There’s no way Sir Luca is the person Mother spoke of! There’s absolutely no way! I’ve known him for TWO DAYS!’
She glanced back at him.
He was smiling at her with that shameless, infuriating grin that made her want to both smack him and...something else she refused to identify.
"Let go of me, Sir Luca!" She demanded. "There’s no need to hug me so tightly!"
But Luca only squeezed tighter, pressing his face against her back.
"The road is too rough and we’re moving too fast. I might fall off if I don’t hold on."
She opened her mouth to protest—and then closed it.
Because he was right. She was galloping at full speed through the village, weaving around buildings and leaping over obstacles. He really might fall if he didn’t hold on.
So, having no choice, she gritted her teeth.
"Shameless." She muttered. "Absolutely shameless! You’re beyond shameless, Sir Luca!"
—
The chase continued through the village, with Sigrid circling the castle again and again while the furious centaurs pursued them.
"Get him! Don’t let him escape!"
"I’ll tie him up and beat him when I catch him!"
"Justice for the breast milk incident!"
"You can’t run forever, Hero!"
The commotion drew the attention of every centaur in the village. Doors opened. Windows were thrown wide, as curious residents stepped out to see what was happening. Even the elders, who rarely left their homes, emerged to witness the spectacle.
"What’s going on?" One centaur asked, scratching her head in confusion. "I was taking a nap, and suddenly there’s a full-scale chase happening outside my house!"
"Why is Riley chasing after Sigrid? And why does she look so furious?"
"What did the Hero do this time?"
"Wait—why is my daughter chasing after them while waving her wooden sword?!" Claudia exclaimed, pressing a hand to her chest in alarm. "She’s going to accidentally poke herself!"
"And she’s laughing so happily! Why is she having such a good time?!"
The entire village was utterly dumbfounded.
"One group looks like they want to unleash absolute havoc upon the world." Someone observed. "And another group is having the time of their lives. What exactly is going on?!"
Even Poppy had poked her head out of the highest window of Ivory Horn Castle.
Her silver hair was mussed from napping, and she was blinking sleep from her eyes.
But the moment she spotted the chase thundering past below, her face transformed into an expression of profound indignation.
"HEY!" She shouted, leaning so far out the window that Thea had to grab her tail to keep her from tumbling out.
"That’s not fair! You’re all having fun without me! I’m the queen! I should be included in the fun! That’s a royal decree!"
"Lady Poppy, please get back inside—"
"I want to be chased too! Someone chase me!"
"Absolutely not, my lady—"
"But it looks so fun!"
And she wasn’t the only one thinking that way.
Because despite the absurdity of the situation, there was something undeniably fun about the scene unfolding before them.
The is was especially so since the village had been gloomy for so long.
The banishment of the male centaurs, the constant threat of human invasion, the tension that simmered beneath every interaction—it had all weighed heavily on the community.
Even though no one was truly suffering, there had been no liveliness. No excitement.
Just the same routine day after day: training, sleeping, eating, training again.
The only disruptions came from Mavis and her occasional pranks.
But now—now the village was alive.
The young centaurs were bellowing murderous threats with exaggerated fury.
"I’M GOING TO MAKE HIM WRITE ’I WILL NOT TRICK CENTAURS INTO DRINKING BREAST MILK’ A THOUSAND TIMES ON A CHALKBOARD!"
"AND THEN I’M GOING TO MAKE HIM EAT THE CHALKBOARD!"
"THAT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE BUT I SUPPORT IT!"
And then there were the little ponies, who had apparently decided to serve as Luca’s personal cheering section.
"YOU CAN DO IT, EVIL HERO!"
"BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!"
"BELIEVE IN THE NELLA WHO BELIEVES IN YOU!"
"THAT’S FROM A DIFFERENT STORY, NELLA!"
"I DON’T CARE! IT FITS!"
It was chaotic. It was ridiculous. It was absolutely wonderful.
Even the elders, who had quickly pieced together what had happened based on the milk still dripping from several of the younger centaurs’ lips, couldn’t help but smile at the sight.
The Hero had brought something back to their village that had been missing for a long, long time.
Life.
Even Sigrid, even as she dodged around a startled group of older centaurs who had to flatten themselves against a wall to avoid being trampled, couldn’t quite suppress the small smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
The village was livelier. She could see it in the faces of the centaurs they passed—the surprise, yes, but also the amusement.
The way some of them were already laughing, already whispering to each other, already speculating about what the Hero would do next.
He had been here for a morning. A single morning.
And already the village felt different. Brighter. Louder. More alive.
’Maybe.’ Sigrid thought. ’Maybe this is exactly what we needed. Maybe this chaos isn’t a bad thing at all. Maybe—’
"Hey, Sigrid?" Luca’s voice was warm against her ear.
"What?"
"I’m really glad I met you."
Her stride faltered. Just for an instant. Just enough for Riley to gain several lengths.
"Wh—what are you—why would you just say something like that?!"
"Because it’s true." His arms tightened around her. "You’re stubborn and you’re proud and you take everything way too seriously."
"But you’re also kind, and loyal, and you stepped in front of a dozen angry centaurs to protect me even though I absolutely deserved what was coming. That means a lot to me."
Sigrid’s face was doing things that faces should not be capable of doing. Her ears were twitching so violently they might have been trying to achieve flight.
"That’s—you can’t—I told you, it was the covenant—"
"Sure it was." Luca’s voice was pure mischief. "That’s definitely the only reason."
"SIR LUCA!"
But she didn’t shake him off. And she didn’t slow down.
Instead she just giggled and ran as the spectators watched as the village they knew lit up with life.